


i can't hurt you anymore

by scrunchyharry



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Ficlet, Ghosts, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Mental Health Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:15:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26976451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scrunchyharry/pseuds/scrunchyharry
Summary: There was a boy who lived in the closet of Harry’s new house. Louis, he was called, and he was there when Harry’s family moved in, watching timidly as Harry unpacked his boxes, and when Harry asked if he wanted to help, he said he could not touch anything.I’m Louis, he said, and we can be friends and I will never leave you if you promise to be with me forever.
Relationships: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Comments: 22
Kudos: 38
Collections: 1D Trick Or Treat Fest 2020





	i can't hurt you anymore

**Author's Note:**

> Read the tags. I cannot stress this enough.
> 
> Title is from This Is How I Disappear by My Chemical Romance.

There was a boy who lived in the closet of Harry’s new house. Louis, he was called, and he was there when Harry’s family moved in, watching timidly as Harry unpacked his boxes, and when Harry asked if he wanted to help, he said he could not touch anything. 

I’m Louis, he said, and we can be friends and I will never leave you if you promise to be with me forever.

I’m lonely, he said, and you should stick your head under water in the bath and try to hold your breath as long as possible, and even longer, and then we can play together. Harry almost succeeded before his mother pulled him out of the water. It’s okay, Louis said, we can try again another time.

I’m bored, he said, so you should see if you can jump out of his window and land on your feet like a cat. When Harry offered that he signed the cast on his leg, he shook his head and went back into the closet. He did not come out for a whole week even when Harry called his name over and over again, promising to try again.

I’m sad, he said, and you should ride you bike down the steepest street in town as fast as you can. The cast was on Harry’s arm, this time, and he refused to sign it, reminding Harry that he could not touch anything.

It’s not normal, Harry said, that Louis was still there even as Harry was getting too old to have an imaginary friend.

Don’t worry about it, Louis said, I’m not an imaginary friend, he said, I don’t think I’m a ghost. I’m just here, he said, and sometimes I’m not. You’re all I have, he said, you can’t ever leave me.

Just stay with me, he said, and it will all be fine. Just do as I say, he said, and we can be together forever. Try harder, he said, take your car and see how fast it can go and don’t slow down even if you get scared. 

I’m angry, he said, red hot anger that seemed to make the air around him vibrate, and Harry should not have kissed another boy on his bed where Louis could see, and he disappeared for two months after that. Harry felt his absence deep in his bones, aching for his oldest friend to come back, willing to beg for his forgiveness. He had not known what he knew now, what made so much sense once it all lined up in his mind. I want to fix it, he said to the empty room.

I’m sorry, Louis said, his voice soft in the dead of night, and Harry told him all he had understood while he was gone, and he made promises that felt like an oath. Do as I say, then, Louis said, and find the sharpest knife in the kitchen.

His parents were worried, they said, and this doctor will help with the voices. We love you, they said, and the pills will help with the hallucinations. It hurts us more than it hurts you, they said, but perhaps you should go away for some time to a place that will help with the delusions. There’s no boy living in your closet, they said. You’re scaring us, they said.

I love you, Louis, Harry said, and he explained that the pills he had to take every morning were because he was not supposed to talk to him.

Take them all, Louis said, and no one will bother us anymore. You won’t be sent away, he said, and we can finally be together forever. It will hurt a little bit, he said, but I will be there, it won’t be long, now. 

Anything you want, Harry said. I’m tired and I want to be with you, and he smiled when Louis pressed a kiss to his lips.

Come away with me, he said. We’ll be together forever, now.


End file.
